Omaha daily bee., 1887-12-07
THE SPECULATIVE MARKETS.
The Long-Expected Break in Grain
Prices Finally Shows Itself.
WHEAT AND CORN BOTH DROP
The Provision Pit Shows Quite a
Strong Opening - Cattle Trading
Only Moderately:Activc-Hogs
tlcd-Quotatic:.s.
CHICAGO PRODUCE MARKET.

CrrAGo, Dec. 6.-[Spccial Telegram to
the BEE For several weeks, and, in fact,
almost ever since grain prices began to move
upward good part of the professional trad
crs have been looking for "a break They
have several times believed that it was due
and have acted upon their belief, much to
their discontinue. But to-day it came. 1t
was not very large, but was something more
than halt in the upward movement and the
bears are somewhat jubilant. Wheat and
corn each lost about lc during the morning
session, but this does not represent the ex-
tent of the fluctuations, because at one time
in the day there were better prices in both
pits than the opening, and the close was in
the most active deliveries, somewhat higher
than the lowest point reached. May wheat
opened at S5lIc, advanced to S5s4c and then
fell steadily to s41sc. The beginning of the
decline was caused by heavy realizing and
when il was once started, stop orders coming
In accelerated the movement All faith in
the grain was not dead, however, and after
this dip of I5Sc there was a reasonably steady
improvement until May wheat touched s515c
again, when there was another reaction to
the ncghborhood of S416c, at which price it
closed at o'clock January wheat opened
at 7S3Sc, sold down to 17l2c and closed there
at o'clock. The believers in wheat do not
think that the faith of the country is broken
and attribute the decline to-day largely to
realizing of profits by outside SPECTATORS
The country has made money on the advance
and is expected to come after more money on
the reaction. On the other hand bears con
tend that while speculation may raise prices
it can't keep them up, and are talking about
q return to the level of last summers prices
Corn opened about &c under the closing
71rippo If Yesterday "a lili n for .IapIlnI.y
55$s for May. The Sensational feature of this
market was the attempt of one local trader,
now heavily loaded with corn, to put the
prices up. Under his bidding the price for
May delivery advanced from 553sc to 56l &C,
but the bidder evidently got very much more
grain than he wanted and was obliged to
turn seller, whercupon the price fell to 545Sc,
ashecr drop of &c. Twice after that the
May delivery touched 55lc, but fingered
most of the time between 545Gc and 541sc
and finally rested at l o'clock at 54$ic.
Aside from the one struggle between local
traders noted above the feature of this mar
longs and on the sharp decline the stop or
ders from the outside. January corn
sold up on the early advance to 5l4c,
then down to 4996c and closed there at
o'clock.
There was quite active trading in oats aud
the market developed considerable strength
in early dealings, but later there was II re-
action and prices rcceded sharply toward the
close of the regular session. One O'Clock
quotations for May stood at %l3c, January
and February closing at 3Olsc and 3Ol4 re-
spectivcly. May opened at 85sc, or about
yesterdays closing price, and on the early
bulge that future sold up to 34ltc. Realizing
by longs was the principal cause OF the re
action.
In the provision trade something of re-
action was experienced. The opening was
quite strong and in the early part of the ses-
sion pork sold up 22}4 4m25c lard 5@7]2 and
short ribs II30l0c from the prices obtained
on the initial transactions. Before the mar
ket, however, became accustomed to the en-
HANGED values general desire was mani
tested to realize. The country, late buyers
and some prominent packers loaded down the
trade with offerings and as the demand
proved insufficient Il severe break followed In
the rcceding turn the movement was irregu-
lar, but it steadily dropped to lower
level and at o'clock extreme
inside prices prevailed. In pork the
drop suffered from the mornings
highest point was 31lG@42I9c, in lard l2laC
and in short ribs l0tal5c. Based on last
nights closings the days actual decline was
2OM22l 2c on pork, l0c on lard and l0@l21sC
on short ribs.
AFTERNOON SEssIoN-Wheat lower; May
at about S4lsc and January 17ssc. Corr
lower May 531sm54c, January 49c, Decem
ber 4S9lc Oats lower; May 33c, January soc
February SOC. Pork declined l1l@c and closet
at Sl4 41i5 for January, $l462ls for February
and SO 10 for May. Lard closed l2lIc lower
or at S1.20 for December, $1.25 for January
S,3j for February, Si45 for March and 81 6:
for May. Short ribs were 5m1l@c lower
closing ut S1.45 for January, S7.51l2 for Feb
ruary and $751; for March.